So why did I choose a used Leica M8 over other cameras of similar or lesser value but equal or greater image quality (Canon 5dm2... Nikon xyz, etc)? I guess the only way I can describe it is that it was a very well researched (14 months) irrational purchase...
An M8 is a great camera but for $2,500 or so you have lots of capable alternatives. However, the biggest decision for me was that I knew I wanted a Rangefinder (more on why a Rangefinder later)... Knowing I wanted a ranger finder the next decision was film or digital. I really thought hard about this and did a ton of research about film RF's vs digital and lusted after some of the amazing film options. Should I buy the legendary Leica M3? Should I buy a Zeiss Ikon or M6 TTL? What about a brand new Voigtlander Bessa? In between (or sometimes during) the meetings at work I would comb the websites... Dealers, manufacturers, eBay, review sites, blogs, the RFF forums trying to decide. I even created spreadsheets (hey! I am a finance guy!) to analyze the costs of a certain body, lens, film, processing combo evaluating the ideas and scenarios about how to make it work... Honestly it was lots of fun dreaming about the possibilities.
I eventually tried my father's old Voigtlander Vitomatic II and was sold on the RF style of photography and through that process really realized that at this point moving to film from digital was just not for me. I like the freedom of digital to view the image on the camera and have virtually unlimited number of shots available. Also, I travel a lot for work so its great to have a kit that doesn't require carrying lots of film.
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